Current Maret parent- and yes the head of the Middle School is leaving at the end of the year. She has been great, and will be missed by many.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I deny its elitism and am the parent of a senior.

You deny whose elitism - Maret? I have one at Maret and another at a big 3 and while both parent communities are pretty “Exclusive” and intense, the Maret community is certainly less racially, ethnically, or economically diverse. I guarantee a significant portion of the homogenous Maret parent community think of themselves as the most selective, elite in the area. My child is thriving, but we are turned off enough by the community that we did not choose Maret for our younger child, even with the Maret sibling benefit.

Huh? I don’t believe you are who you say you are.

We had the opposite reaction after touring their lower schools. Maret impressed us more than expected and Sidwell was really underwhelming. To each their own.

I don’t know about middle school and high school, but I was really not impressed with the K and elementary school in general. Not compared to Beauvoir and Sidwell. Just my opinion

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have applied to schools from out of state in anticipation of a late summer move. We really like Maret for DC. I’m not sure that I care about elitism, but to be sure, do you mean that the students are generally thought to be just average? Is the school wanting for academic rigor?

Maret has academic rigor if that's what your kid wants and can keep up. But not every kid at Maret takes the most rigorous classes and some kids are probably a little more low key than you might find at, say, Sidwell. But there are plenty of very smart kids at Maret (many of whom chose Maret over these allegedly "better" schools), so high-achieving kids will have a strong cohort.

Thank you! Just wanted to make sure I was following the conversation correctly...

Anonymous wrote:We have applied to schools from out of state in anticipation of a late summer move. We really like Maret for DC. I’m not sure that I care about elitism, but to be sure, do you mean that the students are generally thought to be just average? Is the school wanting for academic rigor?

Maret has academic rigor if that's what your kid wants and can keep up. But not every kid at Maret takes the most rigorous classes and some kids are probably a little more low key than you might find at, say, Sidwell. But there are plenty of very smart kids at Maret (many of whom chose Maret over these allegedly "better" schools), so high-achieving kids will have a strong cohort.

Anonymous wrote:I deny its elitism and am the parent of a senior.

You deny whose elitism - Maret? I have one at Maret and another at a big 3 and while both parent communities are pretty “Exclusive” and intense, the Maret community is certainly less racially, ethnically, or economically diverse. I guarantee a significant portion of the homogenous Maret parent community think of themselves as the most selective, elite in the area. My child is thriving, but we are turned off enough by the community that we did not choose Maret for our younger child, even with the Maret sibling benefit.

We have applied to schools from out of state in anticipation of a late summer move. We really like Maret for DC. I’m not sure that I care about elitism, but to be sure, do you mean that the students are generally thought to be just average? Is the school wanting for academic rigor?

I deny its elitism and am the parent of a senior.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret is not elite by any measure. It is solid and nice enough but not elite.

+2 It is competitive to get in because it is small. That is it.

You both and anyone who denies Maret's elitism are clearly parents of other elites who can’t fathom another school being as exceptional as your own. The fact is Maret is an exceptional academic program with the highest level of competitive admissions, even more competitive than the traditional big 3. Does its grade size influence this, sure - but by the sheer definition of elite Maret is a member of that club. Now, is Maret as universally desirable as a traditionally big 3 or as known as the Bog-3, probably not. But it is equally if not more exclusive than those schools so “you say potatoe and I say patato,” but don’t be disingenuous or petty to deny the elitism of the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret is also in the midst of transition and with the impending departure of the Head of the Middle School, and turnover in faculty in recent years, be careful what you hope for, you just may get it...

Literally people on DCUM just make things up.

Not really... look at their job postings. If it's good or bad remains to be seen. And there has been a lot of turn over in past years.

Anonymous wrote:Maret is not elite by any measure. It is solid and nice enough but not elite.

+2 It is competitive to get in because it is small. That is it.

Anonymous wrote:Maret is also in the midst of transition and with the impending departure of the Head of the Middle School, and turnover in faculty in recent years, be careful what you hope for, you just may get it...

Literally people on DCUM just make things up.

Maret is not elite by any measure. It is solid and nice enough but not elite.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I freely admit that this is February, waiting for decisions craziness, but I am waking up from feeling stressed for my DD about getting into Maret for 7th. She is a strong student, great scores, good kid, yada yada. We have a good public school fall back being in MoCo. But she and we were so taken with the community that the school seems to be (academics too but that seemed good at most places we looked at).

No one else in our friend circle is applying for private, so I feel a little alone in my angst about this. Anyone else feeling a spot of this compulsive stress too?

I know, three more weeks. Can't wait.

I wouldn’t get too obsessed—Maret is no more unique than other places in the end. Your daughter will be fine there or elsewhere.

That is not accurate. Maret is a much more homogenous community than any of the other competitive elites. It is a conscientious choice of the school administration as it reflects the families that have traditionally supported the school. There are elites based on excellence and elites based on demand. At Maret, it is all about demand.

What does that mean? Elites based on demand? So it’s not an excellent school?